Smarter than your average action flick! And seriously, young Saoirse Ronan may be one of the best actresses out there. She acts circles around Cate Blanchette, and that's no easy task. This would not have worked so well if she weren't so very good in it, but boy is she!
The plot is beautifully cyclical, and director Joe Wright (director of Atonement, it is worthy to note) handles his slightly fantastical and surprisingly cerebral story with gritty realism and occasional visual flare. The opening sequences in a snow covered dense woodland and the closing sequence in an old, overgrown amusement park are beautiful, and evoke not only that old creeping dread of shadowy places but also reinforce the fantastical elements yet again.
Strip this movie bare and what you've got is a girl kept captive all her life who one day escapes to discover a wide world of wonders and relationships she never imagined. Sounds like a fantasy to me. No wonder I enjoyed it so much
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